The writer at Ever After High
by emyy250
Summary: Cocoa never thought fairy tales were real until Headmaster Grimm kidnapped her. Now, she must go to Ever After High and give a good name to all writers while trying to escape Grimm.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The day before

" Do you know why you were brought here, Miss Cocoa?" Headmaster Grimm's lips curled in a smug movement.

"Because I'm a writer." We had danced this dance before and I hadn't been introduced to the school yet.

"Yes and you're going to do us all proud. I've never seen someone with your love for the characters." He smiled for real this time.

Weeks ago, Grimm kidnapped, or as he puts it "a surprise scholarship with immediate boarding", me. He had my parents brainwashed and was able to get my stuff. I was locked in a room until I calmed down. He explained that I was chosen out of the literal millions of young writers to represent all writers around the world to the next generation of fairy tales. He was one of the original Grimm brothers. Like me, he was a writer a long time ago. Unlike me, he was an author of now world famous fairy tales . Apparently, that gives you access to Ever After, this place. Some famous writers chose death over Ever After. Writers have to die to get here, but since Grimm was a part of this world now, he took me through a portal.

"Cocoa, are you listening?" Grimm snapped.

"No, I'm bored." I stirred my cereal, Lucky Charms.

"I said tomorrow's the first day back from break. You're going to school tomorrow." He told me, drunk with excitement.

My eyes widened, "No!"

"Yes, and Ever After requires all under 18 to go to school." His slasher grin came back. He hadn't hurt me, but I knew something was wrong with him. The maid, Helen, took our dishes.

She took me shopping after breakfast. We drove away from the mansion and into town. Shopping was boring. We ate out. Helen didn't like Grimm, but she was treated decently (so far) and payed well. She didn't want me near him whenever possible. It wasn't a great idea to go where my new classmates shopped, but it was close. I saw some teens, one in a red dress and the other in a blue dress. Red dress had blond hair and blue eyes. She noticed me and walked over.

'Crap.' I thought. Grimm warned me about students. Not to meet them outside of school.

"Hi, I'm Apple White. You're new, aren't you?" Apple bent down to my eye level. My quiet nature made people want to care for me like a little sister. Usually, it didn't so fast.

"Hi. I'm Cocoa." I said, watching the girl in blue come closer.

"I'm Ashlynn Ella. What fairy tale do your parents come from?" She asked.

"Uh..." Grimm hadn't told me what to say.

"That's enough. We're busy." Helen sighed. They left without a argument. We went back to the mansion after that. Grimm was in a better mood. Helen told him we met Apple and Ashlyn.

"Did you talk?" He asked, a glimmer in his eyes.

"A little bit. We wanted to get home." I said quickly. He nodded. Dinner rushed by and again I found myself in the room Grimm lent me. The room was bare. Just a bed and some dressers. My emotions overwhelmed me as the realness of my situation finally kicked in. I called this place home.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

New

**A/N: Taranodongirl1, Cocoa is probably going to be a rebel.**

I woke just before Grimm came to check on me. He left me to get dressed. He smiled as he did. It was my first day of school.

" You bastard!" I yelled after him.

"Don't argue." He lazily whipped back. I had no say now. I got dressed in a tee shirt and jeans. Helen stopped me before I got to the stairs.

"Be good today. Please. He'll let anything slide if you obey." She whispered.

"What?" I looked at her fully. She nodded slowly. I stepped back, the gravity of her look was too much.

" I know it's a lot, but it's true. Go get breakfast." Helen let me go downstairs. Grimm waited at the table with a plate of eggs for me. I ate, trying my best not to throw the plate down and demand to go home. It's all I wanted now. To live without fear of being locked away again or someone's emotions. I knew I'd written stuff like this before, but it's so much more different when you live it.

"Now, go brush your teeth and we'll get going." He said it casually like he had raised someone before. Like he was a parent.

"OK." I spat through girding teeth. He wasn't my father. Grimm frowned a little, but said nothing as I went to bathroom.

Gold crept up the walls, blue tinted the sink and mirror, and it could fit 10 people easy. My reflection showed me my face, brown hair, reddish brown eyes. I was 5' 6". I finished brushing my teeth and left. He got up from the couch and led me to a carriage. A real one with horses and everything. The coachman opened the door for us. The seats were cushioned. Grimm took the one facing me. It was a long drive to the school. We didn't talk. The building was impressive. Students were walking into the large open doors. Most were people sized, but I saw a giant or two. We went passed the drop off site.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"As headmaster, I have my own entrance. Now, when we get inside, I'll take you to your dorm and then we'll go the assembly," He told me. We got inside and walked to his office. I waited while he checked the schedule,"Yes, there's enough time."

Grimm took me to the girl's dorm. I had the last room at the end of the hall. It had more furniture than my room at the mansion. A desk and a night stand to be exact. I didn't get to explore it because he said we had to get to the auditorium. I followed. He let me eat the snacks on a rolling cart. Soon, there was a mummer, the kind that a crowd make. Grimm left to go to the podium. The speech he gave was a tired one.

"Now, I'd like to introduce Cocoa Evans, a new student." He announced. I scrambled up and tried to disguise my run as a fast walk. Why'd he put the podium so far away? I got there.

"Headmaster?" A blond girl in a blue dress asked. She had a iPad thing.

"One question, Blondie. That's it." He broke from his formal speaking. Blondie and the others noticed.

"Um, what fairy tale is she from?" She stammered.

"She's not from a fairy tale. She's a writer from the the real world, where the readers are." He elaborated. Gasps all at once were extracted from the crowd. I felt the air get pulled away from me then get heated from all the talking they did next.

"Why is she here?" A boy in a crown stood up. He was blond and white teeth.

"She's here to learn with you and advance her talents as a writer. Now, go the Castleteria." Grimm told them. They did. A girl in purple paused, looking at me. Grimm handed me my schedule. I had writing class twice. One with him and another with Jack B. Nimble. Jack's was first. English, Econ, art, free period.

"Study hall, too?" I looked at it. Fluff. That's all it was.

"You passed the SAT. That's all you need to graduate now." He said.

"What about a Senior Project?" I asked.

"We don't do that here. Off to B. Nimble's class." He waved me off. I walked off the stage, deciding to find someone with the same class.

Grimm's POV

Cocoa left, but something stayed behind. A ghostly boy with oak brown hair and watery green eyes.

'_We know what you did. You're sick.' _He slapped me. It stung. Then more ghosts appeared. Men. One in a trench coat with red brown hair spat in my face. The glob hit its mark, warm and real. Circling me, they kicked and punched. I couldn't fight them all and was on the ground quickly. The boy got them to stop when I bled in several places.

'_Not now. Later. Cocoa decides.' _The boy glared at me.

'_Remember our faces, Milton.' _A sandy haired man nudged my face to get me to look at the others. My left eye was swollen and watering. Then they disappeared.

**Review, please. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After the attack

**A/N: Milton is Jacob Grimm, but he took a new name. Pinkie Pie: Here it is.**

I found B. Nimble's class with Raven's help. She was the girl in the purple dress. We had him together with a girl named Cerise. She wore a a red hood. She kept tugging at her hood. B. Nimble was talking when the blond boy who asked who i was burst in. His crown was slipping. His hands had blood on them.

"The headmaster! He's- Something attacked him!" His face gleamed with a faint coat of sweat and about to turn pink.

"Then why did you come here?" B. Nimble snapped.

"I couldn't find anyone. He's bleeding. Dex can only do so much. We can't leave them alone. I already called an an ambulance, the headmaster needs help now. Please, everyone's disappeared." He begged, clasping his hands together. The sound wave sent blood on his shirt.

"Alright. Show me." Our teacher told him. They left the room. Some people left the class. The rest stayed put. We went left alone for a good two hours. An ambulance had come and gone. Cerise decided that we needed to know what was going on. I was suppose go since he was my guardian.

We went out to find Daring, the blond boy, or someone else. We got B. Nimble. He had a mop and bucket. The water was bloody. He had to clean.

"What happened? Where is the janitor?" Cerise demanded.

"There's a off campus staff meeting. Daring must have checked those classes. Grimm is alright. He'll recover. Go back to class and tell the others classes are canceled. Cocoa, you can come with me." He held his hand out. I took it. Cerise had already left. He took me to the office. I sat on the couch.

"Now, I want you to tell me the truth. Who are you?" He leaned forward in his chair.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"As a rule, we can't just steal children because ours are, well, not how we wanted them, so to speak. And dumping them is frowned upon now. So, what was Grimm supposed to do when his daughter died? We can't go without heirs. That's all this really is. A breeding race. Did. He. Take. You?" His eyes roared with the energy of an inferno and voice crackling with that same power.

"He..." Why did i hesitate? He couldn't be worse than Grimm. Right?

"Cocoa, what did he do?" B. Nimble softened his voice. That triggered a memory of my friend, Dee. She was like my big sister. I started to wail, unable to answer. My parents didn't remember me and I couldn't get back. Who knows what he did to my relatives and friends? He was controlling and scary.

"He... HE TOok me." I cried, making my voice fluctuate too much. He hugged me now.

"No, don't try to talk. Just let it out. You've been through a lot, huh?" I nodded. I'd babble and scream and he'd just agree. I couldn't tell what I was grieving over. Somewhere in that time, someone came to see what the noise was. I think they left because when I stopped crying, it was just us.

"Water." I croaked. I was tired.

"I'll get you a bottle. Just stay put. Okay?" B. Nimble stood, waiting to see if I was ready for him to leave. I didn't stop him so he left. I felt empty. I focused on breathing. My heart was still racing. Slumping back onto the couch, I wiped the snot off my face. I probably ruined his shirt. My skin prickled. I was hot and itchy. What would Grimm do? He'd know about this somehow.

"Here. We'll talk another time. I'm the secondary counselor, too. Do you want to go to your dorm? Who do you know?" He asked as I drank.

"Um, Apple, Raven, Cerise and Ashlynn." I listed.

"I'll call Raven. Don't let this out, but Apple would spread your visit around. Not on purpose. Blondie always follows Apple. She's afraid of Raven, being the daughter of the Evil Queen and all. It's not fair." He made the announcement for her. She came and was a bit confused.

"Mr. B. Nimble, why did you call me ?" She saw me and nodded, understanding.

"Take Cocoa to her dorm. And don't you dare let Blondie get near her. She has no compassion. If this so much as get mentioned on her "podcast", you're personally responsible." He spat with that fire I saw earlier. He took his cases seriously.

"Yes, sir." She gulped. We left together and dodged the crowds. I'd have to learn my way next time. I wasn't fully out of the fog yet. I opened the door, made Raven leave, and rested until dinner. I could eat a little bit, not too much.

"Hey, you going to eat that?" A blond girl with glasses asked me, sitting on the left.

"No." I gave my piece of cake to her. She ate it.

"Hi, Cocoa. I though I'd see how you were." Raven sat next to me on the right.

"I've been better. I shouldn't even be here." I shook my head.

"Whatever-after happened this morning is safe with me. I can't imagine having to stay at Grimm's. Oops." She covered her mouth.

I got up, cursing her and stumbling away. Everyone stayed back, sensing my anger. Blondie tried to get close, but Daring and another boy held her back. The blond girl with glasses had come to help me. I was glad she did. We got to my dorm and I slept, thankful I didn't have a roommate.

Raven's POV minutes earlier

"Whatever-after happened this morning is safe with me. I can't imagine having to stay at Grimm's. Oops." I covered my mouth. How could I be so dumb? What a fairy fail.

Cocoa cursed me, getting up. A ghost of a blond girl supported her. She wore glasses and pretty green sweater. She looked eight years old. More showed up, too many to describe. A man in a trench coat, a ghost too, warned us to stay back or things would get ugly. Blondie of course, wanted to talked to them.

'_I warned you_,' He and a couple other pulled out guns. Nine of the ghosts tuned into werewolves. One turned into a vampire. Four into a mixture of werewolf and vampire. Eight had magical auras, each one ready to attack.'_Five, four, three_-' The man stopped counting as Daring and Hunter tackled and pinned her down.

'_See? Just do what we ask and nobody gets hurt. It's quite simple.' _A tall Japanese man put his gun away. The ghosts that had changed into something went back to human.

'_Both of you have a strike. Don't get anymore. We keep track.' _The one in the trench coat told me and Blondie.

'_I don't think the purple girl meant to upset Cocoa. She was being dumb.' _The eight year old girl ghost tugged on his coat.

'_Yeah? Okay, half a strike. Help our writer back to the dorm, Sweetie.' _He ruffled her hair. Then all but the girl disappeared. She lead her away. Cocoa hadn't noticed any of this.

**So, review and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chats

**Sorry about the wait. I wanted it perfect for you guys.**

Weeks later, I was called to the office. Grimm's pale face greeted me when I got there. He was still in the hospital. It was a video chat. He had tubes in his nose and mouth. A bruise crept up his neck. He winced as a nurse did something to him.

"Blood sample." She showed the camera a vial filled with the dark red liquid.

"Yes, yes, they saw. Now, get it out of my face." Grimm waved the nurse off. She left.

"Uh, how are you doing?" I shuffled. Ever since my breakdown, I couldn't talk about Grimm to B. Nimble.

"Healing. They say I should be out by November. I haven't affected your studies, have I?" Not if you count a breakdown on the first day then no.

"No, not at all. Sorry, I couldn't visit." Lies.

"It's alright. You're busy. We can't have you failing, Cocoa," He looked at me in a way that meant he knew something, "Can I speak to her alone, Momma Bear?"

"I left to get a drink five minutes ago." She got up. No, don't go.

"Now, I heard you're getting counseling. What for? I treated you well." His tone was curious, but edged that dangerous anger when I was first locked in the room. Like I was supposed to be grateful he took me.

"I miss my parents. Why can't I call them or something?" I mentally reared at his voice like a horse now. He HADN'T hurt me, but his mood was enough to convince himself that I was to be locked in the attic after I split some milk.

"I told you. Ever After doesn't sync with Earth. Not very well. You don't want them to keep calling you after a window has gone." He hadn't said anything. Just "you aren't allowed to call them yet" during the room lock in.

"Oh, yeah." I said lamely.

"Now, what did you really tell Mr. B. Nimble?" He scowled and his eyes darkened.

"What?" I asked even though I guessed he would find out.

"Tell me." He growled, shaking the tablet.

"He thinks you did something." Which is true. Kidnapping, neglect, imprisonment, the list goes on, but that's the main three. Although, I had yet to tell my counselor.

"You're not going to the next appointment, Cocoa. You're better now. I'll know if either of you tries to meet." He threatened.

"I'm better now." I repeated, wanting so much to go to the hospital and break his fingers or something.

"Good girl." A real smile came back and it was much more unnerving. I did something he thought was good. Momma Bear came back just then.

"All right. I'm back." She said a bit cheerfully.

"Cocoa's ready to go back to class. She was just saying good-bye." Grimm told her.

"Oh. Do you want help back?" Momma asked me.

"No, it's my free period now." I left, feeling better as I did.

Cerise was wandering the hall. I looked away and tried to turn around before she noticed me, but it didn't work. She caught up with me.

"Hey, remember what happened a couple of weeks ago? When Raven mentioned something about Grimm and you got mad?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah. What about it?" I warily edged back.

"Um, did you notice any people like adults that weren't part of the staff during that, would you?" She tugged at her hood.

"No, why? Were there some?" I was confused and worried now.

"Well, yeah. This is hard. Give me a minute." She thought on how to put her words together. I wondered what she meant.

"Did you ask about the weird ghosts yet?" Dexter ran to us.

"Ghosts?" I repeated.

"I was about to, but you asked instead." She light-fully teased.

"Oh, oops." He scratched his neck, blushing.

"What ghosts?" I looked at them.

They both stopped and Cerise twirled a piece of the white part of her hair. Dexter shuffled. More students came out from the shadows. The crazy girl, Raven, Apple, and Daring. They had their backpacks with them like they just left class. The crazy girl pulled a water bottle out of her hat and there was a mouse was on her shoulder.

"Of course, you're thirsty. It's fairy hot." She filled the cap and let him drink. The mouse drank it like a person.

"Oh, this is Maddie Hatter. You didn't speak Riddlish this time." Raven realized.

"Yeah, why?" Dexter questioned.

"Cocoa needs us. WE won't let Grimm get her." She flashed a supposed to be assuring grin. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. A boy with oak brown hair was behind me.

"I'm better now. Not messed up anymore." He told me. It was Harrison, a character from a series I wrote. The villain to be exact.

"Okay." I shook my head, shrinking to the ground then curling into a ball. This was too much. Fairy tales characters are real _and _my own are too? Someone tried to move me, but Harrison stopped them.

"No, we'll move her. You're not friends yet." He said. Daring hey-ed.

Cerise's POV

A ghost of a sandy blond-haired man picked Cocoa up. He tried to get her to relax and settle back down. She puffed her cheeks out like a child ready to have a tantrum.

'_Hey, come on now. It's Lucas, 'member? Let's go somewhere quiet and we'll explain everything.' _He tried.

"Nooo. You're not real. You're from my brain. Go back in my brain." She kicked and thrashed. Lucas lost his grip and Cocoa fell. A woman looking a lot like the man caught her.

'_Be nice. We're trying to help you,' _She said, putting Cocoa on the ground, '_Don't baby her, Lucas. She can walk. I'm Sophie.' _Sophie introduced herself.

"Hi?" We waved uncertainly. Except Maddie. She took it in gleeful spades. Tugging at their clothes, she asked if they ever changed them.

'_Yes, now go away. We want to talk with her.' _Lucas put Cocoa in a ghost wagon and pulled her to somewhere.

"That's not how 'go away' works." Dexter thought out loud.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Tea Nook

**Cocoa and all her characters are mine. Just fyi.**

They took me to a cafe. Not the- Maddie's dad's cafe. A small one on the outskirts of the village, called The Tea Nook. It was cozy, warm. Lucas ordered some tea and cookies. I got out of the wagon and sat with them.

"Do you want to know how we became real first or why the others called us ghosts?" Sophie asked.

"Um, why you're real." I thought for a moment.

"We're real now because this is a different world. Some Earth rules don't apply here, mainly that in order for a character to real, the book they're in has to be published so people can read them. Understand?" She played with her napkin.

"Yeah. What happens to you when we leave?" I looked at Lucas and Harrison. He hadn't left yet.

"We go back in your brain." Harrison answered simply.

"Ok. Why'd they call you ghosts then?" I found a teacup in front of me and drank from it. It was milky and honey tasting.

"We look like ghosts to them because they haven't read our stories. Don't let Grimm read ours yet. We need to prepare for when he," Lucas jabbed at Harrison, "goes insane again. We'll revert back to the way we were before if they do. The readers see us as how you written the story. You see us as how we ended up and with bodies."

"Oh, do you just go in and out of my brain?" I nibbled on a cookie.

"Pretty much. We'll come out when you need us or when we want to talk. Any other questions?" Lucas drank his tea.

"Not yet." I couldn't think of any right now.

"It's ok, we'll answer them later. Let's talk about Mr. B. Nimble." Stephen, the father from my very first series, pulled up a chair and swung into a lazy-head-in-hand-elbow-on-the-table-position. He was in his trench coat.

Lucas looked at him like **"Right now?" **

Stephen's look is like **"Yeah. If not now, when? Not at school." **

Then Sophie joined. She said with her eyes, **"Can we sent Harrison back first? He doesn't need to hear this." **

**"Yeah. Harrison, go back inside. Now!"** Stephen glared at him.

**"Fiinne." **He left, rolling his eyes.

"Okay. What about Mr. B. Nimble?" I couldn't think that he did anything wrong.

"Well, have you noticed that he's been sneaking little touches? A brush of the hands, playing with your hair. Stuff like that. And the nicknames! I don't like it." Stephen cracked his knuckles.

"Hey, it could be nothing. Remember that." Sophie warned.

"Cocoa, what are you doing here? School doesn't let out until 4." Mr. B. Nimble asked, sitting in Lucas's chair. They disappeared. Stephen waved bye and glared at my English teacher as he faded.

"I left early. Got bored." I shrugged.

"I heard you got to talk to Grimm. How'd it go?" He asked.

"Bad. He said I couldn't see you anymore. "I'm better", I guess." I sipped my tea with scorn.

"That's horrible. I'll help you with your English then." He winked. I giggled.

"Hey, are you trying to get with Cocoa? Cuz Dad won't like it." Mint, Stephen's daughter, told him.

"Get? Oh, God no. She's like my little girl. I don't want her." Mr. B. Nimble blushed in horror and embarrassment. Wow. His cheeks were such a deep red.

"Ok, that's great. I'll go tell Dad. He'll talk to you later." Mint shimmered out of sight.

We drank the tea my "ghosts" left in silence. B. Nimble was working on getting his face back to normal. He screwed his face up trying to forget what Mint said only to start blushing again. I tried not to laugh.

"Cocoa, this is serious. What if that wasn't your character? What if they didn't know why you needed me," He scolded, "Sorry, I just realized it. This isn't fair to you. You can't be _that girl who __**hooked up **__with a teacher. _Grimm, you've screwed up." He told the ceiling. I wasn't sure who he meant. Was Grimm a swear, too?

"What, should we stop talking because you're afraid it might sound bad?" I tested him. He paused.

"No, that'd hurt you. I love you like my own daughter, Cocoa-bear. If I had one, anyway. Do you feel like telling me anything today? The owner knows not to tell." He wanted to use this time well.

Breathing in, I nodded. Then I told him everything that Grimm did to me. I began to cry like I did on the first day. B. Nimble was hugging me again. His embrace was warm and caring. His love was nothing but fatherly.

"Shh, Honey. It's okay. Grimm's injured. He's not here." He moved me to his lap so I wouldn't get sore from leaning. I didn't scream or babble. I just sat and cried, cradled in his lap. He rocked back and forth. After I stopped crying, I was hungry.

"I'm hungry." I looked up at Mr. B. Nimble. He put me back on my chair and got up to find the waiter. He came back with a plate of pork chops and mashed potatoes. They looked fancy.

"Where's your food?" I took the plate from him.

"I'll make him raid the kitchen. This was all he had cooked. We're friends so I can take his dinner." He smiled like it was a inside joke.

"Ok." I ate some potato. He sat back down and drank the water he got. My knife wasn't meant for cutting meat so I went to get one that did.

"The fall carnival is tomorrow. I thought, um, we could go together. Like a father/daughter date. Only if you want, I mean." He got light pink in the cheeks.

"Yeah, that sounds fun." I said, munching on a piece of pork.

"Good. Now, let's eat." Mr. B. Nimble stuck some salad in his mouth. We ate and went back to school. Mint walked with us and we, me and her, played games as we walked. Skipping, kicking rocks, tapping on trash cans. It was getting darker. We just got on the road to the school when something tackled Mr. B. Nimble. Mint and I ran towards them. Mr. Badwolf had pinned him to the ground.

"What the hell are you thinking, Jack? What are you doing with Cocoa so late?" Mr. Badwolf growled, pushing into his shoulders.

"It's not what you think. Honest. She needs therapy. Grimm's done things. Cocoa trusts me, BW." Mr. B. Nimble struggled under the stronger, Villainy teacher. Mr. Badwolf let out a low "ah" when he understood and let my teacher up.

"Can you tell me what or is that not ok?" They brushed themselves off.

"No, I can't. Just trust me. Grimm is a sick man." Mr. B. Nimble put his hat back on after dusting it off.

"Are you hurt?" I ran to my father figure and grabbed his hand. Mint had gone back to my brain.

"I'm fine, Cocoa-bear." He kissed my forehead. It was a little longer than a peck, but I didn't mind.

"So, what were you doing, Jack?" Mr. Badwolf asked again, now calmer.

"I found Cocoa at my friend's cafe. We talked and ate dinner there. That's it." He was holding me close.

"Hey, don't get snap at me. I understand. You took her under your wing and now she's like your daughter." Mr. Badwolf said.

"Yeah. Why are you out here?" I hugged Mr. B. Nimble. The night air was cold and he was warm.

"I was running when I smelt Jack and you. I sleep better after I run. Let's go back inside. You're getting cold." He noticed. We got to the front door and found it was locked. Mr. B. Nimble made fire come out of his hand so Mr. Badwolf could get his keys. I shied away from the flame.

"It won't hurt you. I'm careful." He lead the way into the dark main hall. Mr. Badwolf was behind us. We were quiet until a night guard's flashlight shined at the stairs to the girls' dorm, which was at the end of the hall.

"HEY, are you supposed be there?" Red Riding Hood's villain yelled then whispered to us,"Jack, get Cocoa to her dorm. If we get caught..."

"I know. Come 'ere, I have to carry you, Sweetie. You don't know how to Skulk yet." The flame lower itself with jerky stops into his hand and he picked me up. He ran without making a sound. I held on as best as I could. We made it up the stairs fine, but then I sneezed. We froze for a minute. Someone stirred and opened their door.

"Hello?" It was Cerise. In the dim light from a hall light that were suppose help you see when you went to the bathroom, I saw one of her ears from my angle. It was wolf like. Don't look out. Don't do it. She shrugged and went back inside.

"Whew. Almost there. The end of the hall, right?" Mr. B. Nimble whispered in my ear.

"Yeah." I whispered back. We got to my dorm the rest of the way without a problem. He kissed my cheek and said good night. Then he ran to his own dorm without so much as a breeze. I got inside and changed. My clock said it was 10 pm. I fell asleep quickly when I got in my bed.

**For those who haven't read the books(Go read them. They're written well and are interesting.), skulking is like stealth. "Misdirection for the non magical." as Jack put it. The reason Mr. Badwolf yelled was because a. to distract and b. he was scared that the guard might go upstairs to the girls' dorm as his own daughter was up there. That's a no-no. Jack has fire powers because he **_**jumped over a open flame that could have set him on fire **_**and I think it fits. And he knows about Cocoa's characters because he reads her work and the students talked about them. So, review and tell me if you liked this or have something to say. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The fall carnival

"Cocoa, are you listening to me?" Mr. B. Nimble tugged the ear bud out. Dang.

"Uh, what?" I said. It was the last period of the day and I couldn't focus. Having him twice a day was exhausting. He had taken over my lessons because Grimm was gone.

"You're not getting this back until after school." He waited for me to give my MirrorPod to him. I did.

"Ouch." Dexter whispered to me. He had trouble with his story that we were suppose to write in our class so he came here.

"Yeah, now what am I suppose do? I'm done with my chapter and bored." I sighed.

"As I was saying, the fall carnival is tonight. There's no homework as I know you're too excited," Mr. B Nimble waited for the cheers to die down,"But I except you to finish at least 3 paragraphs in class." Now there were groans.

He went to his desk and decided to listen to my music. Finding a song he liked, he put the ear buds in his ears. Ugh, this wasn't fair. Class ended after I almost fell asleep. I let everyone leave, but Dexter waited.

"Go ahead. I'll catch up." I waved him off.

"Alright." He turned uncertainly and left.

I went up Mr. B. Nimble's desk. He turned the MirrorPod off and gave it back,"I expect you to pay attention, Sweetie. You have interesting artists on it. Are they from Earth?"

"I made Humphrey get the songs I wanted." I put it in my backpack.

"Glad you found our school tech-y. Smart kid though. Are you ready for the carnival?" He asked.

"Yep." I smiled. He kissed my head and someone knocked on the door. It was Mr. Badwolf.

"It's only me." He walked in.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. B. Nimble straighten to his full 6' something height.

"I thought I'd check in on you. Oh, try not to kiss Cocoa in public. I know she's your baby and all." He added the last part jokingly.

"I know that. Go do your homework before dinner, Sweetheart." Mr. B. Nimble said stiffly.

"Ok. See you later." I went, hoping my father was going to feel better at the carnival.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

"Jack, I didn't mean it like that." BW soften his voice.

"Do you understand how hard it is for me to try not to give myself away?! I can't say anything without seeing if doesn't contradict us." I felt my hands flame. Great.

"I know exactly what it's like. I... have a daughter. It's hard on her. She can't do the things she wants. I just wish I could hug her and stuff in public." BW swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry. I'm really worried about Cocoa. She just told me some important things yesterday and it makes me sick. Why would he..." I clammed up.

"What?" The wolf man asked, thinking I'd answer.

"Can't." I stopped him.

"You can't blame me for asking." He said truthfully then he sniffed. I did too. Smoke.

"Get the extinguisher! My sleeves caught." I tried to slap the flames out. BW got it and sprayed me with the foam.

"Did I get it?" He asked.

"I'm not burning my clothes off if that's what you want." I saw my sleeves. They were charred to the jacket cuffs. Ugh, not again. I was also fireproof, in addition to my fire powers. My clothes weren't.

"That's what I want." He huffed.

"Let's say you were pissing me off." I said. He nodded. Then we went to get food. I told a janitor our story so my room would get cleaned.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

"So, what took you so long? I got swept away before I check." Dexter asked me.

"He wanted to chat." I said.

"He's pretty lax, but he wants you listen to him." He set his tray down next to Hunter's.

"Who?" Raven chewed her bread.

"Jack B. Nimble." Dex answered.

"Oh, yeah. How'd you ignore him? That's a talent I'd like because of a certain thief." Hunter didn't like Sparrow's constant guitar playing. None of us did.

"MirriorPod." I explained. I stabbed my lettuce and soaked in in dressing.

"Huh." Hunter grunted. Ashlynn soothed his grumbles.

"Are you going to the carnival?" Cedar asked. I seized at her voice. The cursed puppet girl. How much of a puppet was she?

"Yeah." I sniffed uncomfortably.

"With anyone or by yourself? You can hang out with us if you're not." Raven invited me.

"Ah, I got someone to show me around." I tilted my head up and left, hoping it gave me sassy independent-ish look my Asian eyes sometimes did.

"Ooo. Who's the guy?" Ashlynn perked up.

"His name is... Not telling you!" I watched as she deflated and pouted.

"Why not?" Cerise arched her eyebrow.

"I wanted to psych her out is all." I shrugged, thinking quickly on how I could make it work.

"So?" Dex urged.

"I'm going with, uh, Da- Mr. B. Nimble." I waited for anything to happen, wishing I was feinting most of my nervousness.

"Ok, we'll need a bit context." Raven said and the others nodded.

"Can Cedar like..." I trailed off as I saw it wasn't going to happen, "He's my friend now. I guess we bonded over stories. Anyway, he said he'd show me around."

"Oh, that's not bad." Hunter laughed. I made a face at him. It worked.

"Hey, Cocoa. Get changed into comfy clothes after dinner." Daddy whispered in my ear. I turned, but didn't see him.

"What?" Raven looked concerned.

"Does Mr. B. Nimble like to Skulk a lot?" I asked her.

"He can, but I've haven't seen him do it outside of class. No pun intended." She added.

We ate the rest of our dinners and we went to our dorms to get ready for the carnival. Comfy I can do, but it has to be warm too. I didn't want to huddle near Daddy all night. What did I have? didn't get to pack my own clothes. Grimm did it for me. I dug through one of my trunks. This one had some of my shorts and pants. I chose a light blue pair of jeans near the bottom and went to the other big one. It was shirts. He chose the expensive stuff. I never ever saw half this stuff before, but they were my size. I held up a pink sweater with silver buttons on it to my chest and looked in the mirror. I wasn't sure about it.

"I can help." Maddie popped like a literal bubble into my dorm. She was small at first then popped and grew big.

"OH, Jesus! That's scary." I dropped the sweater.

"Shh, I hear a shirt calling your name." She dove into the trunk, making a ripple and splash with the shirts. I looked in and moved some. They acted like normal for me. Maddie resurfaced a bit later, dripping water. How did she get wet?

"It was hiding in a lake. Silly thing. Try it on. I won't look." She put her gloved hands over her eyes. I took the shirt. It was like cotton. I tried it on. It felt ok. The shirt was long sleeved, had cream strips on sleeves, and was turquoise with shimmery threads in between the normal ones. The trunk bubbled and a necklace with a candle pendent was on top of the shirts.

"I didn't see that. I'm glad it found you." Maddie gave it to me. It was a ivory cinder in a gold candlestick with an amber flame. Then she walked out the door.

It was almost 7. I put the necklace on, grabbed my purse, and went to find Daddy.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

2 minutes later

I looked for my navy hoodie, the nice one. It was deep in the drawer. Unzipping it, I threaded my arms through it and messed with the zipper's resting place. The upper part of my chest seemed like a good place. I chose my baseball cap with the simple white silhouette of a candle. My phone buzzed. I saw it was Cocoa. Her hext asked where I was. She was at the Castletria.

_**On my way. See u soon.**_ I typed, shoving my wallet in my pocket and headed out the door.

Cocoa was easy to spot as she wasn't going toward the main door. She looked so grown up in the clothes she had on. I'm not ready for this. Go change back into your kitty t-shirt. I didn't say that aloud, but I wanted her to.

"Hi, Daddy." She hugged me. I hugged back and checked that no one heard her. It didn't seem so.

"I think we're ready now. Let's go." I took her hand and we went to the final door to get to the carnival. We were still far from the entrance when Hilda and Gus Crumb sped up to catch us.

"Grimm wants us to take pictures of you doing things with the Cocoa girl, but we don't like this. You are good man. Lets us eat sweets in class. Yes, will not photograph." I deciphered through her accent. Her cousin nodded. He chucked the camera into the garbage. Well, it was disposable. Then they went back to their lazy pace, falling behind us again.

"What was that?" Cocoa looked at me.

"Nothing, Honey." I reassured her.

"Okie-dokie." She smiled and let me lead her. When we final got outside, I took Cocoa to my carriage and we got driven to Book End Village. She messed around on her phone and I watched her until it got boring.

"So, when do you want to learn how to Skulk, kiddo?" I asked her.

"I dunno. Whenever you want." She didn't look up, but when she tried to plug her headphones back in, they were gone. I held them up.

"How-" She grabbed them back, aghast and mad.

"It's useful. Your first lesson is tomorrow. Hey, don't make that face at me," Cocoa stuck her tongue out. She wanted to stay mad, but I wouldn't let her, "Cocoa-bear... C'mon, I wasn't being mean." I fake pouted until she hugged me.

"Love you." She told me. I hadn't excepted her to say that so soon.

"Love you, too." I whispered back. The carriage stopped. We were here.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

The village was twinkling with Christmas lights hung on the shops. Booths were everywhere. I jumped out of the carriage as soon as it stopped. I haven't been anywhere fun in forever.

"Wait for me. I don't want you getting lost." Daddy got out and we had to get our stamps to get inside. I suggested we hop over the fence, but he didn't like it. He said we didn't use Skulking for evil. Then we got inside. Games, junk food, prizes! I started drooling at the scent of hot corn dogs.

"Where are we going?" I pulled Daddy through the crowd to get to my snack.

"Corn dogs." Harrison told him. I found the booth and made Daddy pay. I blew on and ate my corn dog as we went to a game booth. It was a dart game. I got a few darts and popped the one for the giant dragon and the others hit balloons for glass figurines. Just as I wanted. Daddy gave me his and told me to aim for the wagon balloon, a dinky pair of glasses, and a stuffed animal. I did and got them all. We got our prizes and left. I rode in the wagon with Mr. Dragon. I heard music coming from somewhere and we followed it. It was outside karaoke. Hunter and Ashlynn were doing a love song, of course. Maddie picked out Daddy and they took him up to the mic. I followed him to the front. They got Mr. Badwolf, too.

"Let's see... I know! Let's check the Cocoa playlist. Yeah, this one." Maddie chose _Counting Stars _by OneRepublic. Placing the teachers in front of the screen, they started the song. Daddy sang:

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting stars_

_I see this life like a swinging vine_

_Swing my heart across the line_

_And my face is flashing signs_

_Seek it out and you shall find_

_Old, but I'm not that old_

_Young, but I'm not that bold_

_I don't think the world is sold_

_I'm just doing what we're told_

_I feel something so right_

_Doing the wrong thing_

_I feel something so wrong_

_Doing the right thing_

_I could lie, coudn't I, could lie_

_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive_

Mr. Badwolf joined in here:

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be counting stars_

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be, we'll be counting stars_

_I feel the love and I feel it burn_

_Down this river, every turn_

_Hope is a four-letter word_

_Make that money, watch it burn_

_Old, but I'm not that old_

_Young, but I'm not that bold_

_I don't think the world is sold_

_I'm just doing what we're told_

_I feel something so wrong_

_Doing the right thing_

_I could lie, could lie, could lie_

_Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly_

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be counting stars_

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be, we'll be counting stars_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Everything that kills me makes feel alive_

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be counting stars_

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,_

_Said, no more counting dollars_

_We'll be, we'll be, counting stars_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learned _

The crowd cheered. I clapped too. Mr. Badwolf's voice was deeper and hit the lower notes and Daddy's got the higher ones. I got pulled up. I could sing as well as the next guy, but there was so much food out there for me to eat and games.

"Let's try this one." Raven chose _Make a Move _by Icon for Hire. I took a breath as the song's first notes rang out:

_Somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move_

_Please Somebody_

_Test my reality_

_Check if there's a weak spot_

_Clingin' to insanity_

_In hopes the world will ease up_

_Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better_

_'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure_

_Everyone started out a little insane_

_But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game_

_But some of you never learned to drop the act_

_So under that skin of yours: a heart attack_

_'Cause everybody's so scared_

_We don't wanna go there_

_We don't wanna make a move_

_We got all our lives to lose_

_Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out_

_I play along_

_Like I don't know what's going on_

_Somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move_

_Please somebody make a move_

_We all know_

_We all know what's going on_

_And if I had the answers I'd have written them out_

_So I can tell you what to do and what this thing is about_

_But all I've ever learned comes second-hand_

_And I dare not preach what I don't understand_

_You and I; we share the same disease_

_Cover up; compromise what we grieve_

_I've let more than my share of revivals die_

_This isn't pretty but it's what I am tonight_

_'Cause everybody's so scared_

_We don't wanna go there_

_We don't wanna make a move_

_We got all our lives to lose_

_Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out_

_I play along_

_Like I don't know what's going on_

_Somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move_

_Please somebody make a move_

_We all know_

_We all know what's going on_

_Pointing my fingers the problems still linger_

_They keep getting bigger and I hold the trigger_

_Running with fire, I live like a liar_

_Please somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move (I'm pointing my fingers)_

_Somebody make a move (The problems still linger)_

_Somebody make a move (I'm pointing my fingers)_

_Somebody_

_Somebody make a move_

_'Cause everybody's so scared_

_We don't wanna go there_

_We don't wanna make a move_

_Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out_

_I play along_

_'Cause everybody's so scared_

_We don't wanna go there_

_We don't wanna make a move_

_We got all our lives to lose_

_Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out_

_I'll play along_

_Like I don't know what's going on_

_Somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move_

_Please somebody make a move_

_We all know_

_We all know what's going on_

_Somebody make a move_

_Somebody make a move_

_Please somebody make a move_

_We all know_

_We all know what's going on_

I breathed deeper as I finished the song. That was hard. We left with Mr. Badwolf. Or he came with us, either way it meant he was a third wheel. He watched my wagon as we went in shops and I got more stuffs. I got to chose what I got, not Grimm. I liked seeing my clothes before I decided if I took them or not. Wait, Daddy said he, Grimm, had a daughter... I'm wearing dead people's clothes.

"Cocoa, what's wrong?" Daddy asked.

"I think Grimm put some of his daughter's clothes in my trunk." I felt funny, not uncomfortable but not comfy either.

"Ok. Do you want to change?" He was ready to leave.

"I think I'm ok for now." I scratched at my front pants pocket. Daddy slowly nodded and we paid for my new clothes. We played more games, got more prizes, and ate lots of food. I liked the fried cookie dough.

Mr. Badwolf smiled and said while ruffling my hair, "You eat like Cerise."

"What?" Daddy asked him.

"She's got dough on her face. Where are the napkins?" They looked for them then Daddy wiped my face.

"How did you do this? It wasn't a huge piece." I shrugged. Daddy shook his head.

"Hey, it was fun hanging out with you, but I got some places I want to see so I'll see you later?" He nudged Daddy.

"Of course." Daddy told him. After that, I got sleepy, got in the wagon and rested my head on Mr. Dragon.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

Cocoa fell asleep in the wagon. I pulled her to the carriage and we went back to the school. I took her tired body to her dorm and found that I couldn't get in. Her key. I checked her purse, nope. Not her pocket, please can it not? There's 4 pockets and 2 are on her butt. Do I wake her up or let her sleep?

"Uh, are you trying to get Cocoa inside?" Raven came up to us.

"Yeah. I can't find her key though." I told her.

"Ok. I'l use my magic to get her key. That way we won't disturb her." Her hands glowed a light purple and it levitated the key out of her front pocket. Then we got Cocoa inside and I found a place for her toys while Raven got her necklace off.

"Ngh! NO! Don't wanna." Cocoa thrashed and grabbed Raven's hair, pulling it. She tried to pry Cocoa off, but she wasn't having it. Pulling in wide movements, my daughter yanked the poor girl's hair every-which way.

"Ow, ow. Let go. Mr. B. Nimble, help me." Raven cried.

"We can't get out. She's having a nightmare." One of her characters told me.

"Cocoa, you're ok. Let go of Raven please. She hasn't hurt you. Shh." I sat on the bed next to her, holding her arms so she couldn't hit me. Although Raven was stuck bending over, it was better than being pulled around. Cocoa screamed in an animalistic wail. Poor baby.

"No attic!" She elbowed me in the gut, but I didn't let go. I got angry at Grimm. This wouldn't happen if he hadn't taken her. That bastard. He hurt my child. I felt tears of absolute rage run down my cheeks.

"Cocoa-bear, wake up." Soon, she did wake up and cried with me, letting go of Raven in the process.

"D-daddy, I had an awful dream. I don't wanna be here anymore. I wanna go home." She hugged me.

"I know, Sweetie. It's alright. Everything's fine." I tried to keep my voice steady. I held her for a while.

"Will you stay with me?" She asked.

"I can't, but Raven will. She's nice, " I turned to Raven,"Call me if she needs anything. If this gets out, you're dead." I trudged out. I had slightly veered away from the route to my dorm when I saw a painting of Grimm. My limbs caught first. I tore it down and stomped on his face, setting it on fire. I threw the flaming canvas down, over and over.

"Jack, stop! You've done enough." BW sprayed the burning painting out then me.

"She needs me and I can't be there for her." I almost lit up again.

"Ok, what happened?" He asked, walking me to my dorm now.

"Cocoa had a nightmare. She pulled Raven's hair and screamed in her sleep. Raven's staying with her tonight. I think it was about Grimm's abuse." I was sliding from the high quickly. I ached.

"Abuse? Are you going to report it?" BW's eyes widened.

"I will. Just not right now. I'm so drained." I unlocked the door and went inside. Re-locking the door, I got my whiskey from the hidden case and drank from the bottle. Dear lord, I missed this. Luckily, I don't teach class tomorrow. Cocoa won't mind if we start small. I felt better, numb enough to sleep. Placing the empty glass on my nightstand, I changed and went to bed.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

**A/N: This wasn't what I thought it'd be at all. **

**Songs used: Counting Stars by OneRepublic and Make a Move by Icon for Hire**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Gala the snow fox, my Skulking lesson, and Nevermore the dragon

I woke up and recalled my nightmare bit by bit. I was trying go home, but Grimm caught me before I got to the portal. I lost my hand when the portal closed and he locked me in the attic with rats. I wiggled my fingers to make sure they weren't going to fall off.

"Huh? Oh, hi." Raven sat up on the other bed, still sleepy.

"Hi. Why're you here?" I rubbed my eyes.

"Mr. B. Nimble told me to stay with you if you needed anything, but you went back sleep after a couple lullabies. You called him daddy and he called you sweetie. Why?" She turned to face me.

I breathed shakily,"He's been helping me with, uh... Grimm kidnapped me and locked me up. It was awful." I ran my hand through my hair. She came over and rubbed my back.

"It's ok." I let her sooth me. That was my first bad dream here at school.

"I'm alright now. Let's go eat." I told her. She went back to her and Apple's dorm. My phone buzzed.

_**Skulking lesson 10. Meet me outside. I'll talk to Raven, k?**_

I typed back, _**K. Going to eat. Luv u.**_

_**Luv u too.**_

I put on clothes that I knew were mine and went to eat. Breakfast was porridge and honey. Today wasn't going to the best day. I could tell, but it's not the worst. Chatter dimmed and I nearly got overtaken by a flashback, but Daring smiled and his teeth caught the light. After breakfast, I went outside early and saw students playing with their pets. I wanted something to cuddle. Apple was playing with her snow fox, Gala. Gala yipped and bit at rope her master was dangling above her. I sat and watched them until my eyes got out of focus. Then something bit me. It was Gala. She dropped a stick in my lap. I tossed it and she ran after it. Not bringing the stick to Apple like I thought she would, I bent to take it again. Gala decided she wanted to play tug-o-war before giving me the stick.

"Hey, grr." I told her while tugging at the branch. She growled back and let me have the stick after shaking her head. I tossed it again. She brought it and we played a bit more.

"Hi, Cocoa. Let's give Gala back to Apple now." Daddy appeared next to me.

"Oh, hi. What're you doing with Cocoa?" Apple disguised her sudden frown.

"I thought she'd befit from Skulking lessons." Daddy petted Gala. She licked his hand.

"Why?" Apple nickered for Gala to come back. She patted my leg with her paw and went back to her master.

"She should learn something else while she's here. Earthlings don't know their destinies like most of us do." Daddy told her.

"What?!" Apple clutched Gala like it was the worst thing ever.

"Yeah. We don't. In America, we can like choose what we do and we're pretty ok." I shrugged.

"What's America?" She asked.

"It's the best goddamn country in the world! We're free and even though we have our problems, we _are working on them._ WE put our flag on the moon! Have you gone to space? No? I thought not." Stephen saluted an American flag the others put up. They did the same. I mimicked them. Then they went to explore, leaving the flag.

"We'll be back soon." Mint waved bye.

"So, are we just leaving it there?" Daddy pointed. It was in the middle of the grass.

"I'll get them to move it later." I promised.

"We better get going." I got led away. He took me to a large training room with lots of padding. While he moved the shields and swords, I played on the rope, using it as a swing.

"Cocoa-bear, get off that." Daddy laughed. I did and went to the open space he made.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"You're learning how to walk on the balls of your feet. It's hard." Daddy took his shoes off to show me how to walk. His heels were barely above the ground and didn't dip as he moved. I took off my shoes and tried to copy him, but the floor was squishy.

"Good try." Daddy said. I kept trying and near the end, I almost got all the way with my heels off the ground. Then I got cookies for not throwing a tantrum like his last student did. I ate them as we walked around.

"Cocoa, let's go shopping." Raven grabbed my arm.

"Bring her back." Daddy waved bye-bye.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

I had work to do, but I wanted a drink. Going back to my dorm, I felt like this was a bad idea, but I couldn't tell why. Maybe I got drunk before, I don't remember. Opening the cabin, I looked for something that sounded good. I'm out of whiskey so I'll need to get more. Uh... let's see. Ah, hard lemonade. Cracking the bottle open, I drank it. Didn't I have a flask? I dug through my drawers and found what I wanted. It was a silver-gray. Taking the bottle to the recycling, I tucked the flask in my pocket. BW caught up with me.

"Where'd that come from?" He pointed to the bottle.

"I found it. I'm going to recycle it." I told him. It wasn't a lie.

"Oh." BW stayed quiet. It'd look bad if the kids started drinking so we ignored the small stuff like this.

"Cocoa went shopping with Raven. Her first Skulking lesson went well. Cocoa's." I babbled.

"That's great." I tossed the bottle in the glass bin and we left. I hoped he couldn't tell that I drank.

"I... heard Grimm is coming back on the 19th. I thought you should know." BW looked ready to tackle me.

"No." I shook my head.

"Sorry." He apologized.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

I got a doughnut and my characters found me when we went to the perfume shop. Sophie wanted something that smelled good. We looked for a while and Sophie found one she liked. Raven paid for it since I didn't have Ever After money. I'd have to get a job if I didn't get back home soon. When we got back to school, it was lunch and we ate. Raven showed me Nevermore. She was a green scaled, red-eyed dragon. She grew when Raven asked if we could go on a ride. It was amazing. We flew over the Enchanted Forest.

"Thanks. That was fun." I hugged her when Nevermore landed.

"No problem. Nevermore likes you." And to prove her point, the dragon licked me.

"Ew. Dragon spit." I dangled my wet arm at Raven.

"Hey! Don't touch me." She ran out of my reach. I chased her then Dex and Hunter found us and we chased him. I got Dex after he tripped.

"He's got dragon spit on him. Run!" I squealed, running.

"I'm gonna get you." He panted. Nevermore wanted to join and chased us too. She licked Raven after Dex got me again.

"Aw. Hunter, you're next." She yelled as Dex ran away from us.

The game went on until dinner. We washed up and went to the Castletria. It was steak and potatoes. I felt better than I did this morning. We told the others about the game we made. Cerise said it sounded fun. Daddy came up to us and asked for Raven.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

"Promise you won't tell anyone about Cocoa and me. I can't keep telling people what happened to her." I kept my voice low.

"I promise on my life." She crossed her heart and because of it, she accidently casted an Oathbinder spell.

"Well, at least, I know you mean it now." I chuckled darkly.

"Yep." She gulped, the glowing X on her chest faded. Oathbinder was a serious spell. Only the ones who the oath was being made to could break the spell and usually, they don't want that. I don't want to break it, not yet.

"Go back to your friends and finish dinner. Tell Cocoa that you cast Oathbinder and I don't want it broken yet. We'll tell you when it will be." I texted Cocoa that Raven had something to tell her and gave Raven my number.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

Raven came back and ate her dessert. My phone buzzed.

_**I promised B. Nimble that I wouldn't tell any1 about you guys & accidentally cast a spell that binded me to it. Oathbinder.**_It was Raven.

_**What else?**_ I typed without looking.

_**He said he'd talk to you about when you should break the spell.**_She texted back.

**K.** I sent it. After dinner, I found Daddy in his classroom.

"What's Oathbinder do?" I asked.

"It makes so you can't break your promise by using anything you say against you. She said "on my life" so she'll die if she does." Daddy explained.

"Fix it." I demanded.

"NO!" He shouted.

"Why?" I whined.

"She'll be more careful if she knows it'll kill her." He calmly told me.

"I don't like it." I crossed my arms.

"I know, that's why we're going to think of situations that we should break it." Daddy said and we thought. We decided if Grimm toutures her and/or if Apple makes her tell, we would break it. Apple was smart. Then I texted Raven what we came up with and she said it was fair. I showered and bed after I talked with Daddy.

**So, review.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A Giant Wolf and a Skunk

2 weeks later

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

"Grimm's coming back in a few days. Did you report it?" BW asked as we unpacked decorations for his return "celebration".

"Yeah, last week. I filed for adoption, too. Don't hit me." I waited for the smack. Instead, I got patted on the back then smacked.

"I can't believe you did that. Why?" BW shook his head, smiling.

"She's only 17 and her birthday is in August. That's too long to be alone." I protested.

"You mean she just turned 17 this year?" I nodded. He paled. The lumberjack-ize man looked at me with full and utter disgust.

"Was that important?" I backed off.

"Of course it was! HE kidnapped a child." BW started to change violently. First, his ears and eyes changed, then his jaw and face, and finally his body was trying to change into a canine one. Bones broke and he howled in pain, lashing out with half formed paws.

"I'm sorry." I kicked his knee sideways and jumped over his body to go get help.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

I was in study hall when I saw paramedics run down the hall. Momma Bear shut the door and told us, my characters and me, to keep working or whatever we were doing. What happened? I reached for my phone and Momma let me or didn't stop me, either one works.

_**What happened? R u ok?**_

I waited for Daddy's reply anxiously:_** I'm fine. Mr. Badwolf panicked when he learned u were 17.**_

_**How bad?**_

_**He tried to turn into his wolf form. They can't take him away yet bcuz he's still turning.**_

_**Owie. Why'd he panic?**_

_**U're still a child & Grimm took u from ur parents. It's a taboo thing in wolf culture.**_

_**Oh. **_I couldn't type anymore because a giant man-sized wolf barreled through the door. It was Mr. Badwolf. His fur was wet with something smelly. He growled at Momma. She roared at him. It was as tense as hell when it went quiet. I got up and Mr. Badwolf got in front of me. He didn't want me to leave. Momma growled.

"MINE!" He lunged at Momma. I hid under the desk and waited for the fighting noises to stop before I looked again. Both teachers were tranquilized and the paramedics were taking them away. One of them looked me over and said I was ok.

"Cocoa, you're ok." Daddy tried his best not to cover me in kisses and barely managed.

"Yeah." I pushed him away before I hugged him.

"Excuse me, Mr. B. Nimble, but do you have any idea why Mr. Badwolf would do this?" A police officer asked.

"Uh, can we go talk in private? No one should hear this just yet." Daddy asked him. The officer looked surprised and nodded.

"Where do I go?" I tugged on Daddy's sleeve.

"Go, wait, you shouldn't go to class right now. Ok, why don't you go outside?" Daddy said. It was in case I got emotional. He'd call it in.

"Ok." I wondered if Gala would let me play with her.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

I led the officer to my office. I got out the notes I take after every session with Cocoa.

"You see, I've been working with that student you just met, Cocoa Evans. She told me that Milton Grimm kidnapped her. I reported it last week, but I didn't want to mention it in front of her. Mr. Badwolf found out about it when I found her at my friend's café and we were going home after she ate dinner there. I couldn't have him think we were dating. I meantioned that she just turned 17 and I think that's what upset Mr. Badwolf." I said as evenly as I could.

"I see," He skimmed through a few files, "These will have to be used for the trail. I'll pick them up later. Also, didn't you file to adopt, uh, Cocoa?"

"Yes." I heard my voice crack.

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't see how this is relevant." I replied.

"You will get asked that during the trail." He, his badge said Dawson, told me.

"I feel that Cocoa needs someone to care for her. Someone that she trusts." I said briskly.

"I have what I need now. Everything from here on out is off the record. It's awful when things like this happen." Dawson shook his head, putting away his notepad away.

"Yeah. Cocoa shouldn't have even met Grimm. She's from Earth." I put the files back in order and in my desk again.

"Really? I thought I saw the word Earth in one of your notes, but I had to skim." I nodded.

"You seem like a decent man." I told him.

"You too." Dawson left. I saw he took one of my pens. Why the pens? There's a bowl of candy right next to them. Maybe that's the problem. I moved the candy farther forward. Now, no one should mistake my pens for the candy.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End

"Gala? Here, puppy, puppy." I called for her. I couldn't find her in her stall where she was suppose to sleep.

"Cocoa?" Sparrow hopped down from a tree.

"What?" I looked under a bench for the fox.

"Why're you looking for Gala? Don't you have your own pet?" He asked.

"No, where can I get one?" I called for Nevermore.

"The Enchanted Forest. I'll show you. Stop calling them." He took me to a certain spot and told me to say my name.

"Cocoa Evans." I wanted something small. A small red-brown skunk walked out of the treeline and ran toward me. She rubbed up against me. I picked her up.

"Good luck with stinker." Sparrow laughed walking away.

"Don't listen to him. He's being mean. I'll call you Lucia. Unless you're a boy, then I'll call you Leo or something." I petted her.

"Cocoa, you got your pet. I'll take you to Poppa's. He's in charge of the pets." Cerise showed me his classroom was. Poppa was a bear. He registered her, it was a her, and did a basic check up.

"She seems to be healthy, but I'll do a more through examianion tomorrow. Alright?" He put Lucia in a large pen.

"Ok. Bye bye, Lucia." I waved to her. Cerise took me to the Castletria to get dinner. I ate a burger. Cerise had steak.

"Cocoa, let's go visit Mr. Badwolf after dinner." Daddy sat next to me.

"Ok. I got a pet skunk today. Her name is Lucia." I told him.

"You did?" Raven smiled.

"Yeah, she's pretty." I took a bite of Daddy's fries.

Cerise's phone rang, "It's my mom. I'll be right back." She left.

"Where's Lucia now?" Ashlynn asked me.

"Poppa has her. He's going to give her another check up tomorrow." I told her.

"He gave Pesky a check up when we got back from summer." Hunter ate his salad.

"Come on, Cocoa. Let's go." Daddy said as I finished my burger.

"Ok. Bye, guys." I waved as I took a drink of my coke. We went to the hospital and asked where Mr. Badwolf was. The lady at the desk said he was in room 240. We got to ride the elevator. We walked in without looking and saw Cerise and, I guess, her mom, talking to Mr. Badwolf.

"Come in. Red made me tell them about you and Cocoa. Sorry." He apologized to Daddy.

"Hi." I waved to Cerise's mom.

"Baddy didn't say why you got taken." Cerise's mom looked at me.

"I dunno. Grimm's crazy. Why?" I asked.

"Cocoa, that's why he took you. He's crazy." Daddy told me.

"Anyway, let's get back to the more current issue." Mr. Badwolf cleared his throat.

"And what's that?" Daddy scratched his head. I thought I knew something about Cerise, but it escaped me.

"You've met my family." The wolf man held Cerise's hand. Oh, yeah, that's it.

"We won't tell anyone. Right, Cocoa-bear?" Daddy nudged me.

"I won't, Daddy." I said and my candle necklace started glowing.

"Mom?" Cerise pointed to me, alarmed.

"Hmm. Has she called you that before?" Mr. Badwolf thought.

"Yeah, but no one could hear it except me. It didn't glow then." He said, looking at the necklace.

"Did you get interviewed?"

"Yeah."

"What're you talking about?" I tugged on his sleeve.

"I adopted you. Well, I'm trying to adopt you." He explained.

"Oh. I'm your daughter now." I smiled. I love him and if he adopts me, then Grimm can't and that's good.

"Yeah. So, you don't mind?" Daddy bit his lip.

"If you adopt me, Grimm can't." I elaborated.

"That's our girl." Mr. Badwolf laughed a big hearty laugh.

"You're my uncle now." I told him.

"Uncle Badwolf? I like it. Red, do you want to be her aunt?" Uncle Badwolf asked his wife.

"I'd love to have someone to visit me and you seem like a wonderful girl. Cerise's still a junior. Yes, I'm Auntie Red." She patted my head.

"I guess a cousin would be cool." Cerise nodded. My candle glowed even more and then dimmed itself.

"My Ever After family." I proclaimed happily.

"Thanks, BW. This means a lot. Knowing Cocoa has someone else to go to." Daddy wrapped his arm around me.

"She's a good kid." Uncle Badwolf yawned.

"We should go. We'll come back later." Auntie Red ushered us out.

"Bye." Cerise and me waved. We talked about stuff we liked to do on the elevator ride. She likes running and being in the forest where she can put her hood down. It gets stuffy in winter and summer because of the heat. In winter, I guess they crank up the heat. I like baking and Auntie said we could do that when I came over. Writing, duh, and reading. And the normal stuff, watching TV, listening to music and the like.

"It was nice seeing you again after all this time." Daddy told Auntie Red and took me back to the carriage and we went back to school. I got to my dorm and went to bed.

**The ghosts will come back. They didn't fit in this chapter so I gave them a brief mention where I could. Special thanks to my friend, Sydney, for coming up Lucia's name and Taranodongirl1 for helping me think of Cocoa's pet.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

He's back

Grimm had a cane now. They did a number on his legs. Stephen told me that he and the guys attacked him. I'm still not sure how to feel about it. He walked a bit stiff. It was the welcome back ball. Briar wasn't sure how to plan this, seeing as the guest of honor was injured. So she made it relaxed and fun.

"Stop eating so much." Cerise took my cake roll.

"If I eat, I look busy and people don't bother you when you're busy." I took it back.

"She's right. You're going to have to see Grimm again." Raven hugged me.

"I don't wanna." I whimpered.

"I know." Cerise gave me some punch.

"Cocoa, I've been looking for you." Grimm found us. Why did we stay inside?

"Hi." I stayed put.

"I'm sure you have lots to tell me. Let's go for a walk." He reached through our triangle and grabbed my hand. Ow, my fingers. He took me out to a stone bench away from the crowd and sat down. I smelt roses and pine needles.

I coughed, "Uh."

"Why did you disobey me? It was very simple. You weren't suppose to see Mr. B. Nimble outside of his class and cancel the therapy." He waited.

"You're mean to me. I don't like you. Da- Mr. B. Nimble is nice and doesn't yell at me." I said with fading courage. It took a lot to say that to his face.

"I have been nothing but good to you! apologize right now." His face was red.

"No." I tried not to cower. Suddenly, my ankle hurt and I was on the ground. He hit me with the cane.

"That's it. I wanted Cocoa to say what she just did and go back to the party, but you had to hit her. YOU hit her." Stephen growled.

"Ah, you again. Are you going to attack me?" Grimm laughed.

"Mint, take her back to Raven or somebody." My character told his daughter. She helped me up and we went as fast as we could.

Stephen's POV

The guys had stayed behind and turned visible. Grimm paled. We'd let Sophie and the girls fight, but Cocoa needed them now. Our enemy cleared his throat.

"I can't fight. As you can see. Why don't we talk?" He sat up a bit straighter.

"The minute you pull something, all bets are off." I told him.

"I miss my daughter. She was a good girl. I loved her very much. I'm not sure why, but she started acting out..." Grimm surprised us with that.

"I don't like where this is going." Lok, my adopted brother, whispered.

"Me neither, but shh." I wanted to hear why he was crazy to try to understand him.

"... She started wearing short skirts and revealing tops. It was horrifying. We argued a lot after that. Then she ran away. When I got her back, I made sure she knew what the rules were. I have no idea how she died of poisoning, but she did." He finished. That couldn't be it. Ok, maybe it could, but I don't think so.

"And that's why you kidnapped Cocoa?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Why?" Grimm looked at us like we were dumb.

"I was wondering where your wife was." Lok said, his blond hair swaying with the frightened bouncy steps of its master.

"She had an affair so I killed her. I think that's when Marcy started acting out, too." I stepped back. He killed his wife.

"You... what?" Lucas's fingers edged toward his pocket knife. With a trembling hand, I stopped him.

"Can I hit him?" Harrison asked me.

"Go ahead." I told him. He hit Grimm with a weak punch.

"...I knew you were sick, just not that sick." Kurogane, my adoptive father, pulled Harrison back. The small boy could not resist the stronger, Japanese man's grasp.

"I wouldn't hurt him." Grimm faked shock.

"You hurt Cocoa because she wouldn't apologize." I reminded him.

"That was different." He honestly thought that was ok.

"You don't hurt kids. At all. Period." I was starting to get sick of him.

"She's almost an adult." He shot back.

"That's not the point. You made her afraid of you," He stared at me blankly, "We're not getting through to him. Get ready: 1, 2, 3." We all flipped him off and left. We'd tell Jack what happened and he could do something.

Stephen's POV End

"Grimm WHAT?!" Daddy yelled. Stephen came back as I told him that Grimm hit me with his cane.

"Jack, keep it down." Uncle Badwolf checked the door. He was let out because the Wolves heal quicker than normal people. We were on a balcony. The party was still going on.

"NO, I won't keep it down. He knocked Cocoa-bear to the ground because she wouldn't apologize for saying the truth." Daddy shot two long jets of flames into the air.

"Uh, we have something to tell to you." Stephen almost squeaked.

"Is it bad?" Daddy rubbed his temple.

"He told us he killed his wife for having an affair. After that, he said he had problems with the way his daughter dressed and she ran away. Then he "made sure she knew the rules were" and she died of poisoning sometime later or we think so." Stephen hugged me.

"You're fucking kidding me. BW, call the police. I can't _even _right now. I love you, Cocoa." Daddy stormed off.

"He just needs to cool off. It'll be alright. I'll get you cookies. Does that sound good?" Cerise asked.

"I want Mr. Dragon. And cookies. He's in the wagon. Here." I gave her my key. She took it and ran to my dorm.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to report something." Uncle Badwolf hovered near the door. He didn't want me to hear everything that happened again. I couldn't go back to the party.

"You're cold. I'll make a blanket." Raven made a blanket out of magic. It was lavender, fuzzy, and had white swirls on it.

"Mine." I wrapped it around me. Today was ending bad. I hate today. Grimm was judging my work too hard in our writing class and then he took me from Raven and Cerise to yell at me.

Apple opened the balcony door with a glass of juice in her hand and saw us,"What in Ever After?"

"Raven, deal with that. I was talking to a student. She's comforting Cocoa. Where was I?" Uncle Badwolf asked the operator.

"Raven, what happened?" Apple asked her.

"Look, Cocoa's really upset right now..." Raven started when Cerise came back with Mr. Dragon and the wagon.

"I brought the wagon too. He's too big to run with. Apple!" Cerise growled. Then coughed to hide it.

"Tell me." Apple's face contorted with worry. I climbed in the wagon and snuggled with Mr. Dragon.

"You don't mind, Cocoa?" Raven asked me, not getting near me or the wagon.

"No." I sighed, wanting to sleep.

"Cocoa, where was the last place you saw Grimm?" Uncle Badwolf was still on the phone.

"Uh, he took me to a stone bench. Kinda off the path. I smelt roses and pine needles." I wasn't really paying attention.

"It's ok. I know where that is." He put his hand up.

"I'm back. What happened? Damn it." Daddy saw Apple and breathing in, he shot more fire into the air, now through his mouth.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" She repeated.

"Grimm abused Cocoa." Raven finally told her. Everyone was quiet as she processed the news. Her face melted from frustration to a mess of shock and fear.

"I don't understand..." She whispered.

"We don't either. But Cocoa's hurt and that's all I need to know." Cerise didn't mean it in a bad way. She meant she wanted to protect me and that she would.

"How long have you known?" She tried to calm down.

"Cerise's known for a few days, Raven and B-Mr. Badwolf've known since the fall carnival. I'm her counselor." Daddy told her. We heard sirens, the police had come.

"Come on, Cocoa. We gotta go. Stephen, will you go watch Grimm? We need to know where he is." Uncle Badwolf asked him. He started reading my stuff.

"Ok." He left, floating off the balcony. We went down to meet the police and they asked where Grimm was. Lok said he was in the forest. I repeated what he said and most of them went to go get him. Everyone was scared now. Why were the police here? I felt hot like it's a heat wave hot. I moved my blanket to my lap, but it didn't work. I got up to get some punch and tripped on something. I tried to get up, but couldn't and blacked out as the heat worsened.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV

"Cocoa? Ow." Dexter tried to help her up, but pulled his hand back after he touched her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I think she has a fever. Her skin's hot." He said. I touched her skin. It wasn't a fever. It was the Nimble Fire. All Nimbles get some variant of the Fire to protect them. It was a blessing given to us by the Good Witch because of the first Jack of 1920 started a forest fire and died. I don't know how to treat the Nimble Fire. I was young when my Fire started.

"What's wrong with her?" BW asked me.

"Her Fire started. The Nimble Fire is an ability that we get so we don't get burned. And we get some fire manipulative abilities as well." I explained.

"So, what're we gonna do? She's not awake." Cerise sniffed at her cousin.

"We go to the hospital. I'll call my mom." I dialed her number as I followed to the ambulance.

"Jack? What's wrong? You forgot to call yesterday. Jack Junior was so upset." Mom asked. Oh, shit. I drank so much, I forgot my nephew's birthday. Grimm coming back really stressed me out.

"Tell him I'm sorry, but I adopted a girl and her Fire's starting. Like right now." I could not get off track now.

"Oh! Are you going to the hospital? The first few days are intense." Mom said.

"Yes, I'm going there right now." I crouched to fit in the back.

"Good. I'm coming as soon as I find Jazz's fireproof clothes. Jane, your brother adopted a kid! A girl. Help me look for Jazz's old clothes." I sighed. Thanks for yelling that, Mom.

"Oh my god?! Really? Jazz, Junior, Uncle Jack adopted a girl. Her Fire started so we have to go the hospital." Mom didn't say anything about the Fire.

"Mom, I have to go." I told her.

"Ok. Bye bye, we'll see you soon." She hung up.

"You're going to fine, Cocoa." I held her hand.

"Ghh." She moaned. I didn't think this would happen to her. I didn't know it could happen. No one in the family has ever had to adopt someone before. I was born sterile. That's why Junior was named after me. He was going to be the next Jack, but now I have Cocoa. I'll see what she wants to do.

"Sir, come with me. You need to wait until the doctor can see her." We were here already? A male nurse led me to a waiting room. I sat down, wishing I could drink now more than ever.

Mr. B. Nimble's POV End


End file.
